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GEORG FRIEDRICH HAENDEL (1685 – 1759)

MUSIC FOR THE ROYAL FIREWORKS

The composer Georg Friedrich Handel was born in Halle an der Saale on February 23, 1685. He received organ lessons from Friedrich W. Zachow at an early age. After initially studying law, he soon devoted himself entirely to music and became organist at the cathedral and palace church. In 1703 he was appointed violinist at the Hamburg Opera. Handel spent the years 1706 to 1710 in Italy, where he was enthusiastically received by the local nobility. He received a great deal of inspiration there and studied Italian opera in depth. He spent the following years alternating between London and Hanover, where he was appointed court conductor in 1710. His compositions were so successful in England that Queen Anne paid him a high annual salary. In 1727 he was granted English citizenship. Handel's compositional output comprises over forty operas, almost exclusively Italian, as well as numerous oratorios and instrumental works. Handel died in London on April 14, 1759.

 

On the occasion of the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and the signing of the Aachen Peace Treaty on October 7, 1748, King George Il organized a large celebration in London's Green Park. In order to be able to count on reasonably good weather, the festivities were planned for April of the following year. The Italian Servandoni was commissioned to build a pavilion to burn down the fireworks and the Bolognese pyrotechnicians family Ruggieri were brought from Paris to arrange the fireworks. 

 

Georg Friedrich Handel was entrusted with the composition of the music. Originally the king did not want any music at all. But when the Duke of Monmouth told him how many military instruments Handel wanted to use, he was satisfied and said he hoped that there would be no violins ("that there would be no fidles"). 

 

At the dress rehearsal on 21 April 1749 in Vauxhall Gardens, 12,000 people were present and blocked traffic over London Bridge for three hours. It is reported that the orchestra comprised over 100 musicians. It is more likely, however, that it was the sixty or so instrumentalists that Handel asked for in the score. The rehearsal was a great success. 

 

On the day of the actual performance, April 27, 1749, the overture was first played at six o'clock, after which a salute from 101 guns started the fireworks. The fireworks were a disaster because technical errors set fire to the magnificent Servandoni's pavilion. 

However, Handel's music was extremely successful and was performed again a month later, on 27 May 1749 in the Foundling Hospital in a version supplemented with strings. 

 

About the present edition:

The original version of the Fireworks Music is in D major (D minor). In order to make the composition more practicable for wind orchestra, the arrangement was lowered by one full step.

 

My version is based on the copy of the manuscript, which was edited by Roger Fiske and published in 1979 by Eulenburg. The manuscript contains only partially rudimentary tempo indications. These headings have been adopted in the present version.  The tempo markings and tempo changes I have added in square brackets are to be understood as a suggestion and are based on my own practical experience with the composition and on comparisons of various audio recordings with conductors who have recently achieved outstanding services to historical performance practice (Pinnock, Mackerras, Hoogwood, etc.).

 

The double-dotting, phrasing and ornamentation not found in the sheet music, but quite common in the performance practice of the time, have been incorporated into the present edition as a suggestion. Here too, the basis for this was the examination of recordings by the above-mentioned conductors. The same applies to the kettledrum part and the added voice for the snare drum (Réjouissance and Menuet).

 

The manuscript contains no dynamic descriptions. The corresponding entries are to be understood as suggestions from the editor. 

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The scores are wire-stitched (no spiral binding) in 32x24 cm format.

The individual parts are delivered as PDF on a USB stick.

 

Price :                   score (printed) CHF 60.- /  parts (on USB stick) CHF 60.-    

Orders to:          edition.hauswirth@bluewin.ch